Yesterday and today were shooting days 2 and 3 of Jackie and Nikki’s, “Whips, Chains and Rubber Tips”.

As I’ve mentioned, elsewhere it’s part of the Carlton/Screen West Midlands’ First Cut 2003 series and I got a bit of good news from Screen West Midlands during the shoot… more on that later.

You know, it should be a matter of concern to me that spending two days in the company of assorted S&M aficionados along with their eye-watering paraphanalia doesn’t seem to bother me. I suppose I’m getting used to it and besides they’re all ‘very nice people’.

Paul, the shaven headed and gottee’d leather kilt wearer from the Cobra Club was interviewed today and it transpires that he’s an Income Tax Inspector! We interviewed a nurse yesterday in MetroFox, a Fetish clothing store in Wolverhampton where one of the shop’s managers turned up to be interviewed wearing a very shiny, skimpy metal gladiator outfit.

The best bit for me was the chance to work not only with friends, (‘Jimmy’ from Light House was there as well as Jackie and Nikki), but also to work with the professional’s – Vera (camera) and Oliver (sound – who I knew from the runner’s job I did in March). After I managed to kerb my usual tendency to ‘jabber’ away without having anything important to say, we were in thrall to Vera’s and Oliver’s anecdotes from their work in the industry.

Back to that piece of good news! … two of the commissioners from Screen West Midlands popped by and just had a quick look-in and chat. At first I didn’t say much, I didn’t want to come off as pushy although I was dying to ask them what was happening with the Digital Shorts selection process. Eventually they did reveal that the short list hadn’t been drawn up yet, that the proposals had been sent to independent readers and that a short list would be forthcoming. I don’t expect much from this because I’m not sure that my ‘The Barry Tapes’ script has been submitted by Toshi and Phil, (besides it’s not that good!). What I was interested in and was told that I had been successful with was my application to be one of the trainee placements. Yipeeeee!

Apparently I’ll be contacted soon with details of what I’ll have to do as one of the placements in one of the eight production teams for whichever successful Digital Shorts makes it through. I can’t believe it! By the end of the year I’ll have broadcast credits from at least three different productions.

Now all I have to do is get paid more often!